Costs of SQE stage one skills tests could be covered by employers, SRA suggests

Research and writing skills tests could no longer be included in stage one of the new Solicitors Qualifying Exam (SQE), with the Solicitors Regulation Authority suggesting that law firms could instead pay for potential trainees to take these tests separately.

As Legal Futures reports, the announcement follows an SQE stage one (SQE 1) pilot which revealed problems with the skills element. SQE 1 is designed to test ‘functioning legal knowledge’ through multiple-choice questions, while SQE is designed to test practical skills, but a skills component was added to SQE 1 at the request of employers.

Julie Brannan, director of education and training at the SRA, is now calling for solicitors to set out the case for including a skills element in SQE 1. Brannan also said that one option under consideration is removing skills from SQE 1 entirely and asking for firms to pay for candidates’ skills tests separately.

Other proposals put forward included adding a discursive writing element to SQE 1 alongside the multiple-choice questions; and increasing the number of skills assessments in SQE 1 to make them more thorough, which the SRA warns would involve “substantial cost”.

Brannan said: “We need to be clear about why we’re assessing skills, and what the impact is on costs and fairness to candidates.”

Unfortunately, there will remain confusion about SQE among students and employers until these issues are cleared up.